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April 28, 2014

U.S. Expands Russia Sanctions; Separatists Seize European Monitors in Ukraine 
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The United States has announced new sanctions on Russia in the continued
standoff over the crisis in Ukraine. Speaking today in Manila, President
Obama said he would expand the list targeting Russian individuals and
firms with financial and diplomatic action.

President Obama: "Russia has not yet chosen to move forward, and these
sanctions represent the next stage in a calibrated effort to change
Russia's behavior. We don't yet know whether it's going to work. And
that's why the next phase, if in fact we saw further Russian aggression
towards Ukraine, could be sectoral sanctions, less narrowly targeted,
addressing sectors like banking or the defense industries."

Tensions in Ukraine remain high with continued violence and a new
hostage crisis. Over the weekend, pro-Russian separatists seized a group
of monitors with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
in the town of Slavyansk. The separatists say they want to trade the
monitors for a group of their jailed activists. Meanwhile, the mayor of
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has been seriously wounded in a
shooting. Doctors say the mayor, Hennadiy Kernes, is fighting for his
life.

 

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